Of Course I Remembered
by Kouga518
Summary: Paine goes shopping for an anniversary present. Will she find something good for her girlfriend? PaineRikku pairing. One shot.


A/N: And back for a third helping is me, with yet another little shoujo-ai goodness for the masses. Please read and enjoy.

**Of Course I Remembered**

Paine stood in front of one of the many shop windows that lined the street, staring in at all the goods that sat there on the display stands. She was hoping that if she stared long enough, the perfect present would jump out and wave at her. Of course, that was just wishful thinking. That kind of thing only happened in those weird Saturday morning cartoons that Rikku sometimes watched (at a rather loud volume).

She just kept on walking, sighing to herself. The pair of them had been together almost a year now. In fact, tomorrow officially marked their one-year anniversary. It was the first and only day that Paine could really say held a place close to her heart. So she had decided that it should be a special day, and had set off in search of something to get her love. Something perfect.

Something that she wished would just appear before her in that instant.

Initially, she thought this trip would be easy. But then she realized just how difficult it was to shop for Rikku. It was almost like shopping for a little kid. Her bubbly personality was comparable to that of a 6 year old at Christmas time.

"_But it's because of that personality that I love her."_

Paine smiled as she thought that. It helped to keep her determination to find something to make that day special. So she kept running through several options, though most were complete duds. Or at least to Paine, they were items that weren't worthy to be given to someone as special as Rikku for their anniversary.

Her first idea was clothing, but she opted away from that one quick. She remembered the night they had a falling out about that, and didn't want those same feelings to resurface. And even if they didn't, she wasn't really sure of what kind of clothing to get for her.

So she promptly moved on to stuffed animals, which also very quickly moved to the 'trashy ideas' section of her mind. Rikku had too many of them. In fact, Paine was quite sure that Rikku could go digging in her closet and find some that she didn't even know she had.

So next came candy. Rikku had a huge sweet tooth for pretty much anything that was coated in either sugar, chocolate, or (as was most often the case) both. But Paine decided not to get her too much candy. Maybe a small box to go with her special present, but not too much. Besides, if she got too much candy, Rikku would spend most of that evening bouncing off the walls.

Paine had gone so far as to asking Brother if he had any ideas, of which he had none. Buddy and Shinra both came to the same answer as well. She even called Yuna up in Besaid and asked her if she had any gift ideas for her cousin. Yuna had mentioned that Rikku loved chocobos, but Rikku already owned one that was kept at a nearby ranch (she went out every other day to make sure he was well treated and cared for). Tidus had mentioned something about a blitzball, but Paine just disregarded that. That was all that man could think about. Paine didn't understand what Yuna saw in him, but it wasn't for her to question other people's tastes.

As Paine continued her stroll down the shopping district, the hours flew by. So quickly that she actually lost track of time. She resigned to returning back to their home, seeing as the shops were now closing for the night. As she entered her home, her significant other greeted her. They both hugged and traded stories about their days. Paine was careful not to let slip that she'd been looking for a gift for her. While she didn't actually have it, she decided to wake up early and hit the shops again early in the morning. So with that thought in mind, the two went up stairs and to bed.

-The Next Day-

There was a saying about the last minute. The saying goes that everybody has his or her greatest ideas at the last minute. Paine silently promised to wring the neck of whoever had said that should she find him. The next morning heralded no new ideas as to what to purchase. In fact, the last minute rush to find something made the search even more difficult.

Walking up from shop to shop, she found the exact same things as the day before, all of which were greeted by the same mental response.

Junk.

She was about to give up when she saw a flyer for some performance taped up on a lamppost. Now normally she would have just walked right past it and paid it no mind. But something written on the flyer had caught her eye.

The play itself looked as though it was something to miss. But below the title was a description of the play and a list of the songs that would be performed during said performance. It was the name of a particular song that had caught her eye.

The title of the song was 'Cherished Memories."

Paine actually had to stop for a moment and take it all in. And then it hit her. Memories of her past. Before the pair of them had a relationship, and before Paine had begun to open up to people, Rikku had always been curious about her past. She never told her then, and since Rikku had never asked about it since they began dating, she had never told her.

Her past was troubled, granted, but still, didn't the person she trusted and loved so much deserve to know more about her? So then she decided what to do. It would be the perfect present. She ran down the street and back to her home in record time.

-That Night-

The two of them had just finished sitting down to dinner and were talking about the day's events when Rikku pulled a surprise present from beneath the table. She giggled and kissed her on the cheek before saying, "Surprise Paine! Happy Anniversary!"

Paine smiled and opened it. Inside was some perfume (lavender and rose smelling) that Paine had always wanted, as well as a leather polish kit and a new sharpening stone for her sword. Paine gave Rikku a kiss and told her it was perfect. Then Rikku gave Paine a 'what did you get me' look.

Paine began to scratch the back of her head, pretending to have forgotten. Rikku's face began to change to disappointment when suddenly Paine pulled a small wrapped box from behind her.

"You didn't think I'd forget you did ya?" Paine said, playfully. Rikku's face lit up again as she took the box and began to unwrap it. Inside the box was a sphere, a blue and green colored ball that had words swarming around in it. When Rikku touched it, her ears will filled with Paine's voice.

Rikku looked up at Paine and asked, "What is it?"

Paine bent down on one knee and held her hand before speaking, "Remember when you used to ask me about my past?"

Rikku nodded her head in a yes fashion.

Paine then said, "I never told you then because I didn't want anyone to get an advantage on me. When I began seeing you, you stopped asking me so I still didn't tell you. I was also afraid that had you known, you might not have liked me much anymore. But I decided that you had a right to know what happened to me before you met me. So I recorded it all on that sphere. So whenever you want to know, you'll be able to find out as much or as little as you'd like."

Rikku gave Paine the biggest and brightest of smiles and gave her a bear hug that even made Paine lose her breath for a moment. But she smiled, knowing that she'd given something that Rikku could adore for as long as she wanted.

Rikku whispered, "Thank you" and kissed her on the lips.

Paine smiled back to her and replied, "Happy Anniversary, Rikku."


End file.
